Flojomojo Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Like every Atari, Activision, and Sega retro pack from the era! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 It's great! Emulators are becoming quite sophisticated. I'm watching a discussion where there are some video artifacts that can't be explained or 100% understood or totally accounted for by looking at the emulation code. And real hardware exhibits the same visual effect! That's neat.. What next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 I just played on my AtGames 2014 Sega Genesis Classic Console and it wasn't nearly as bad as the haters make it sound. It's small and neat and it was super cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBeefy Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 I just played on my AtGames 2014 Sega Genesis Classic Console and it wasn't nearly as bad as the haters make it sound. It's small and neat and it was super cheap. I have one of the Sega handhelds I got years ago. I like it and for the price I don't see why people dislike it. I'm not sure the emulation on the retro 77 is a big deal in the grand scheme of things. It is to this community which wants to play homebrew and such, but average gamer won't know about atariage. If the first run does well maybe they can continue to work on better emulation. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmadgames Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 I have one of the Sega handhelds I got years ago. I like it and for the price I don't see why people dislike it. I'm not sure the emulation on the retro 77 is a big deal in the grand scheme of things. It is to this community which wants to play homebrew and such, but average gamer won't know about atariage. If the first run does well maybe they can continue to work on better emulation. Agreed. The AtGames products were definitely worth the price and it sounds like they will be much improved this year. I think the issue with the Retro 77 is that the emulation software they were hoping to use is not available / won't be licensed to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 (edited) I have one of the Sega handhelds I got years ago. I like it and for the price I don't see why people dislike it. Simply for the sound. I mean yeah I agree the thing is cheap, (and feels the part) but the slowed down sound was the bummer constantly reminding you something wasn't right, and the tinny speakers in the handheld didn't help that case at all. Else.. it plays pretty decently! Just got finished playing a little round of Sonic 1 on it right now actually. I have to admit that my expectation was also marred by excitedly first trying out Contra Hard Corps on my SD card as the first game on the system and obviously as it's known now, it can't play that. Edited July 27, 2017 by NE146 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Agreed. The AtGames products were definitely worth the price and it sounds like they will be much improved this year. I think the issue with the Retro 77 is that the emulation software they were hoping to use is not available / won't be licensed to them. They already have a working prototype. It would be stupid to spend all that R&D then not to release it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Well they have to use the latest version of stella, if they don't they're going to lose a lot of compatibility and versatility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Could it be something like the 2600-daptor II firmware needs to be licensed or restrictions on profiting from Stella open-source software? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Could be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dualcam Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Could it be something like the 2600-daptor II firmware needs to be licensed or restrictions on profiting from Stella open-source software? I make a yearly cash donation to Stella based on adapter sales. Tom http://2600-daptor.com/ 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 While there is a lack of 2600 games for the trak-balls... A bit outdated, isn't it? Maybe you want to update this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 I make a yearly cash donation to Stella based on adapter sales. Tom http://2600-daptor.com/ I didn't want to suggest an issue between 2600daptor and Stella. I was speculating about hyperkin needing to work out separate licensing with 2600dator's firmware patent and Stella's use restrictions. If that was clear, then I applaud your support of Stella and totally love using your products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Could it be something like the 2600-daptor II firmware needs to be licensed or restrictions on profiting from Stella open-source software? To be clear, there is no restriction on profiting from Stella, nor is there any requirement to donate/pay for it (although it is greatly appreciated). What they (and anyone, really) can't do is use the code and close it up, and not release any changes they've made. This has nothing to do with money, but with releasing any changes made to the codebase (so everyone else can use/enjoy them too). That being said, since they're using an older licensed version of Stella, I doubt that is the issue. Unless of course they want to use a newer version and not follow the license; THAT would be an issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 I make a yearly cash donation to Stella based on adapter sales. Tom http://2600-daptor.com/ Yes, and it's greatly appreciated too. BTW, I will soon start working on better input remapping to more properly support the extra buttons on the 2600daptor. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmadgames Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 (edited) To be clear, there is no restriction on profiting from Stella, nor is there any requirement to donate/pay for it (although it is greatly appreciated). What they (and anyone, really) can't do is use the code and close it up, and not release any changes they've made. This has nothing to do with money, but with releasing any changes made to the codebase (so everyone else can use/enjoy them too). That being said, since they're using an older licensed version of Stella, I doubt that is the issue. Unless of course they want to use a newer version and not follow the license; THAT would be an issue. I think after they got some feedback, it became obvious that they needed to use a more updated version of Stella, which they are not able to do. I'm sure they didn't see any possibility of commercial success coding on top of the licensed version or having to release their code using the latest version if they could even get that worked out. Edited July 27, 2017 by bmadgames Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 I didn't want to suggest an issue between 2600daptor and Stella. I was speculating about hyperkin needing to work out separate licensing with 2600dator's firmware patent and Stella's use restrictions. If that was clear, then I applaud your support of Stella and totally love using your products. 2600-daptor is patented? How? Wasn't the Stella-daptor prior art? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Hierophant Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 (edited) Yes, this is basically it. As long as there are two processes in memory that can talk to each other over some protocol, then the separation is adequate. For example, in Stella 1.1, the core code was non-GPL but the sound code was GPL. So the sound code was placed in a separate sound server that was launched by the core program upon application startup. The standalone core could run exclusively of the sound server app, except of course there was no sound. Both apps could be updated separately, with no regard for what the other one was doing, as long as the method and type of communication between them stayed in sync. IMO, this idea could be extended to the cart reader code. The cart reader, custom UI, whatever else is in one or more processes that are not GPL'ed. Data is read by the cart reader, then passed to Stella, perhaps by temporarily creating a file in RAM representing the ROM. This is passed to Stella, which then runs it as normal. All of this isn't terribly difficult. GPL'ed software has been made to run with proprietary code before; this is a solved problem. Basically, as long as a piece of GPL'ed software can be compiled into an executable without requiring proprietary bits (ie, object/header/source files that are not GPL), then the license is obeyed. So it sounds like that in this case, the licensing of the non-GPL Stella 1.1 would force Hyperkin to replace the GPL sound code. Sounds like another setback on for this emulation box to me. Not that Hyperkin has a very GPL-respecting past anyways. Its competitor atgames' 2600 Flashback sound emulation isn't particularly good, it isn't particularly easy to get good sound it seems. Edited July 28, 2017 by Great Hierophant 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 So it sounds like that in this case, the licensing of the non-GPL Stella 1.1 would force Hyperkin to replace the GPL sound code. Sounds like another setback on for this emulation box to me. Not that Hyperkin has a very GPL-respecting past anyways. Its competitor atgames' 2600 Flashback sound emulation isn't particularly good, it isn't particularly easy to get good sound it seems. If Hyperkin borks the sound on this, I'll die a bit inside. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 So it sounds like that in this case, the licensing of the non-GPL Stella 1.1 would force Hyperkin to replace the GPL sound code. Just another reason to use Stella 5. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 If Hyperkin borks the sound on this, I'll die a bit inside. Woot! How can the sound get borked? It's so simple, you just vibrate the speaker and it makes sound! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 I think after they got some feedback, it became obvious that they needed to use a more updated version of Stella, which they are not able to do. I'm sure they didn't see any possibility of commercial success coding on top of the licensed version or having to release their code using the latest version if they could even get that worked out. "Obvious" maybe, but unless you have some inside information, this is still just speculation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 I stick to my own speculation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 I stick to my own speculation.Maybe ... to which I say, don't worry about sunk cost fallacy, just do it right. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalation_of_commitment In related news, sounds like the Sega Genesis Flashback will be delayed, because of problems in the first run. Problem is, they sent those flawed units to reviewers. Facepalm ?♂️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dualcam Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 (edited) I didn't want to suggest an issue between 2600daptor and Stella. I was speculating about hyperkin needing to work out separate licensing with 2600dator's firmware patent and Stella's use restrictions. If that was clear, then I applaud your support of Stella and totally love using your products. Apologies, I did miss read your post. Without the work of the emulator authors, we would not have any of this, so I hope everyone does something to support their favorite emulators. There is not any patent on the 2600-daptor firmware. Tom http://2600-daptor.com/ Edited July 28, 2017 by dualcam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.